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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mate — a partner
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bark — to shout
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. season — in sport
  18. pop — music
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. season — of the year
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com